A Little Assistance
by boonstra3
Summary: A rainy day at the motor inn leads to Clem causing Lee some shenanigans. When Carley gets involved, it only gets worse for him. Bad summary. Lee/Clem fluff and CarLee.


Lee flipped over the card delicately, a wide smile already apparent on his face. He could already tell her reaction, while the girl was smart far beyond her years, she wouldn't be able to see through his act. Clementine observed closely as she inspected the card, before her whole face lit up in slight confusion and total disbelief.

"Is this your card?" He asked nearly rhetorically, already expecting her shocked response.

"It is!" Clementine beamed in pure amazement, wide eyes and an astonished expression. "How did you do that? Can you teach me? Was that a magic trick?" She let her curious mind gush out all of its thoughts as Lee sniggered to himself, not exactly proud of outsmarting an eight year old, but greatly amused by her seemless wonder at the simple antic.

"No sweet pea, it was a card trick. Nothing magic about it."

"But how did you get it? You didn't see my card when I picked it!"

The moment of realization was now upon the former history professor, as it dawned on him that the little girl was not going to withdraw from her interrogation until she had an explanation. Clementine was a curious girl, and she was a determined girl too, both combining together to yield an adorable ordeal.

"I'll show you when you're older." Lee shrugged, hoping the comment was suffice as a reasonable answer for Clementine. He picked up the stack, a few cards tainted with coffee stains from their past users, and tucked them away back into their packet. As he looked back over at her, she was wearing an unimpressed frown. She wasn't buying it whatsoever.

"You're never gonna tell me..." She pouted, looking down at her feet in slight disappointment.

The pair were holed up in their room at the motor inn, a torrid rain beat down mercilessly on the rundown motel. It battered up against their window , each individual raindrop producing a beat which all amassed into an unorganized, yet comforting orchestra, almost resembling a rigid drumroll. It had been pouring since they had woken, and it had continued to do so; with no signs of stopping in the immediate future. The group agreed it was better to stay in their rooms for the day, much to the children's dismay. The sickly beige walls of their voluntary prison felt as if they were closing in on him. Lee had studied the hanging painting on the wall opposite the beds was indeed a painting of a boat lazily drifting in the bay of what looked like a Mediterranean town somewhere, and after analysing and re-analysing it, he came to the conclusion that he hated the piece of art. The lamp which covered the whole room in an artificial orange light was perhaps a shade too bright, and Lee felt that he was developing cataracts simply by gazing at it. Clementine had switched her attention to gazing out the window, somehow spotting the battered figure through the watery remains of millions of ambitious raindrops that were smeared against the aperture.

Unfortunately, someone was always required to do watch, to make sure nothing crept up on the motor inn while they were all indoors. Carley had bravely offered to do it, but she was most likely coming to regret her earlier decision as she sat under the cover of the motel walkway, adjacent where the balcony had partially collapsed. She may be away from the downpour, but both the aggressive wind and the biting cold still managed to torment the poor woman at her lookout post. Lee felt a little guilty for not being out there himself right now.

"She looks sad." Clementine muttered absentmindedly, looking as if she was going to burst into tears herself. She didn't like people being sad.

"Yeah, she does." Lee nodded, noticing the reporter rub her arms in hope of any warmth. She must be freezing out there in the near hurricane conditions. Lee scanned over the room for literally _anything_ he could give to Carley to make her time on watch marginally more bearable. Settling on the withering leather jacket he had been wearing around the motel the last few days. Lee had tossed the vintage looking coat on the dresser, he didn't need it right now and it would certainly hold as a more adequate protection from the relentless weather than the purple vest jacket she had on. Lee hoped that it would shelter Carley to some degree.

"Hey Clem, I'm gonna go talk to Carley for a bit, you stay in here, okay?" Lee explained as he strolled over to the door. Glancing over at the little girl, he saw the noticeable anxious expression she had on.

"Don't be too long." She pleaded quietly. Lee's doubtful look told her to elaborate why. "The wind is scary." Clem shivered as another powerful gust bellowed against the motel, sounding like a . Lee grinned to himself, and gave her a reassuring look.

"Don't worry sweet pea, I'll only be a minute."

 **...**

Lee awkwardly trudged his way over to the reporter, clearing his throat to make her pleasantly aware of his timid presence. There wind felt as biting as it had sounded, goosebumps filing up and down his arm. Carley spun around, seeming visibly startled. But her face lightening and her shoulders dropped at the sight of her trusted friend.

"Hey Lee. Did you come here to take pity on me?" Carley jested in what spirit she could muster, a brave smirk on her face. Herself and Lee always joked harmlessly with each other, becoming very good friends in the midst of this nightmare.

"Hey Car. I came to give you this actually." Lee commented, presenting the coat. "Thought you might uhhh... need it out in this rough weather." Lee stated, offering the aging jacket to her. Carley shot him a questionable look, taking the large jacket and inspecting it with close detail.

"What, so you're judging my fashion sense now?" Carley asked sarcastically, appearing facetious in her tone.

"No I just thought that-

"Lee, I'm joking."

"Right. I knew that." Lee tried to subtly recover his case as to avoid some heckling from the reporter in the future. Another gust of glacial air made Lee envious of the reporter as she draped on the jacket in response to the breee.

She wrapped it over her shoulders and pulled it tight around her confident frame. It was a tad too big for the woman, appearing baggy on her thin features, but her grateful smile said that she appreciated the gesture nonetheless.

"Thanks Lee. This was really sweet of you, even though it does smell weird." She poked.

"I don't think it smells." Lee shrugged nonchalantly with a grin. The continuous beat of the downpour set a relaxing backdrop to their conversation. Lee noticed Carley glancing behind him, a wide smile on her face.

Lee twisted around, he hadn't even heard Clementine creeping up shyly behind him. Lee smiled softly and knelt down to the little girls' level.

"Hey Clem, what's up?" Lee asked warmly, knowing Clem was just probably worried but Lee knew to always ask how the girl was doing as these were frightening times for everyone, especially through the eyes of a child.

"I'm okay. I was just wondering what you were doing." Clem answered quietly, hands behind her back as she studied the ground.

"I think she means what is taking you so long." Carley stated brashly, knowing what Clem was really trying to say. The little girl was too polite to make such a demanding request. Clem nodded hesitantly and gazed over at the older woman. Carley offered a friendly smile to her and Clementine beamed back in response. Carley always had a soft spot for the little girl, while Clem herself was always happy to talk openly to the reporter.

"What is taking you so long Lee? Go on, you two get out of this cold." Carley remarked, folding her arms and hunching over in the lawn chair to try and preserve some body heat. Mark would be taking over for Carley when her shift ended in less than an hour or so, Lee could tell she was counting down the seconds.

"Carley? Would you like to come to our room when you're done?" Clem questioned off her own accord. Lee admired that even at this young age, Clem would take her own initiative. It showed she was years ahead in maturity, much further than Duck even though he was the older child.

"Well of course I would sweetie. If Lee doesn't mind." Carley brandished a smile at the young girls' request. The pair both looked up at Lee, who sheepishly crossed his arms and blushed slightly. Carley looked amused by his bewilderment while Clementine gazed up at him in anticipation. He enjoyed Carleys company, he would be glad to have her with them. Lee didn't want Carley to be stuck in her room alone for the evening.

"Well... yeah. Sure. Come on over when you're done here." Lee nodded, before taking Clementine's hand in his own, signalling that they should head back to their room.

"Okay, see you two in a bit." Carley called over the wind as Lee lead Clem back to their room.

 **...**

Lee lay down on the bed, Clementine's total focus to her drawing, tongue sticking out in concentration to her newest masterpiece, keeping her distracting from conversation. This left Lee with his thoughts, he never really had the time to do it, considering how hectic the schedule was around the motor inn and under Lilly's leadership. He sighed contently as he tried to forget Kenny and Lilly, about how he felt solely responsible for the death of Doug, he tried to forget Larry's constant abuse and how worried he was that Clementine would see him as a bad man because of his actions.

He tried to forget his past. But somethings you just can't erase from your memory, no matter how bad you want them gone.

He rubbed his forehead and tried to convince _himself_ that he wasn't a bad man. That he did all that he could. Sometimes it didn't feel that way. Sometimes he felt like the world was just out to get him. Maybe it was. Perhaps karma was taking its slow and sadistic time to make his life a constant torment, and the whole world around him one big graveyard.

Lee felt a soft touch on his hand.

Gazing up, he saw Clementine grasping his hand gently. Lee hadn't noticed her leaving her drawing. She donned a concerned look on her small round face.

"Lee, are you okay? You look sad."

Lee sat up for the little girl, attempting to give her a weak smile to stop her worrying.

"I'm... I'm okay Clem. Don't be worrying about me." Lee assured her, getting to his feet and stretching his back until he heard a small pop. He strolled over to the small table and examined Clems' drawing. It was two big houses in a childlike representation; green scrawlings representing the grass on the ground while a big blue unfinished sky. The yellow orb in the very top right corner had a smile drawn on it. Three figures stood outside the first house, one smaller than the other two, while one figure was alone at the second.

"Me and my parents are here." The young girl pointed out, gesturing to the three people. "And there's you!" Nodding at the lone man. Lee smiled as he studied the picture closely. All of them had big smiles on their faces. All of them looked happy.

"It's very good, Clem" Lee smiled warmly.

"You think?"

"Yeah. It's very good."

Lee put the picture down and sat down on the bed again, fixing up his hair as Clem watched on. He saw the look on her face and knew the cogs in her mind were spinning as she seemed deep in thought.

"Lee?"

He could've predicted it.

"Hmmm?"

She paused for a second, possibly looking for a way to phrase what she was going to ask him.

"Do you like Carley?" She inquired innocently, biting her lip. Lee found it an odd question for her to ask as Carley was probably the person he talked to the most. He trusted her with his life and she was always there to help in when he was in a spot of trouble. Carley was someone he could depend on.

"Of course I like Carley, she's a very nice woman." Lee replied. Clem paused again, looking down at the carpeted floor, before her eyes settled on her guardian once again.

"But do you... 'like' like her?" She nearly whispered the last part.

Lee blushed red at the question. He didn't know where Clem got her presumptions from, but he knew that she wouldn't drop it until she was given a response.

Mulling over the question for a bit, Lee viewed her question in a more serious light. Did he like Carley? It was a topic he felt embarrassed to even think about, but Lee definitely felt strange about the reporter at times. He felt... close. Very close to her. He could talk and trust Carley with just about anything, and she was an intriguing personality, to say the least. Lee couldn't deny that Carley was an attractive woman, with attractive qualities; as both a person and as a member of this group and what she offered it.

"Lee?" Clem brought him back to earth, shaking his head to clear his mind.

"As I said, she's a very nice lady Clem." Lee said, tongue-tied as to how to answer her question.

"She's very pretty." Clementine exclaimed, Carley was a great role model for the young girl. Smart, self-confident and always thinking about everyone else.

"Yeah... She is..." Lee agreed absentmindedly. As soon as he heard the shocked gasp escape from Clementine, Lee knew that he had just made one very unforgettable mistake. And Clementine doesn't forget things like this.

 **...**

Clementine beamed up at Carley as the older woman messed with her frizzy hair. Lee fiddled with his watch, the battery died long ago and he was carrying out the post-mortem. The evening with the two girls had been quite pleasant, Clem and Carley chatted throughout as Lee could see a special bond open up between the pair. The three had all eaten dinner, handed out door-to-door by Lilly. It wasn't much but it would keep them going until tomorrow morning.

The two started whispering to each other, Clementine covered her mouth to stop her giggling. Lee could have swore he heard his name being mentioned. Not knowing what the little girl was saying to her and moderately worried about what she _was_ saying, Lee decided to poke around a little bit.

"What are you two laughing at?" Lee asked with a grin. Underneath that grin was a very worried man, Clem could've told the reporter _anything,_ especially the little 'slip-up' he had made earlier. He had made Clem promise to not tell anyone but sometimes, the eight year old could get carried away. Who knows what she was telling Carley right now.

"Oh, just girl talk. Right Clem?" Carley replied, trying to play a serious face but she couldn't keep her smirk down.

"Yeah! No boys allowed." Clem nodded, a doting smile on her round face. Lee sighed and sat back down in the chair, arm slung over the back of it. He continued to observe the pair murmur and giggle to each other. Lee felt as if he was being paranoid, but he definitely could hear some mention of his name in their hushed conversation. Why else would they need to whisper?

"Lee? Let's play a game!" Clementine remarked suddenly, standing up and rushing over to him. Lee shrugged lazily and went along with it, seeing no harm in indulging the girl with a game or two.

"It's called Truth or Dare!" She exclaimed mischievously.

"How do you know to play Truth or Dare?" Lee asked, surely first graders wouldn't be playing this game.

"Carley told me about it." She replied. Lee looked over at the woman, who shrugged at him in silent response.

Lee quickly figured that this wasn't going to end well for him, especially now that Carley was here. She now looked on, beckoning for the game to begin. Clementine sat on the floor between Carley and Lee, gazing between the two.

"Okay, I go first." Clementine stated giddily. Lee nodded and crossed his arms. Hoping it wouldn't bode too badly for him, and neither girl would put him in too bad a scenario.

"Lee! I dare you-

"No Clem, I have to pick between Truth or Dare, not you." Lee corrected her. Clementine moped slightly, not seeming too up to date on the rules of the game. "I pick Truth anyway." He added after. The safe option, or so he thought.

"Okay... " She mumbled, racking her brain for some tough question for the man. She seemed very enthusiastic about playing, and it all seemed a bit suspicious to Lee.

 _"Maybe it won't be so bad. Maybe she will-_

"Do you think Carley is pretty?"

Lee was hit with an absolute curveball. He opened his mouth to say something but he couldn't make a sound, looking like a goldfish. Clementine had turned on him and pinned him, rendering him seemingly paralyzed to talk. He couldn't bear to look at Carley herself, he was too red-faced to dare look at her.

"Well-I ummm... Clem." Lee barely managed to squeak out. But the little girl gave him no him no let-up.

"Come on Lee!" Clementine urged. Carley remained silent though, which only served to make the situation worse for him.

"Well, y-yeah I suppose." Lee muttered quietly, keeping his head firmly down to try and hide his face. Never more had he ever just wanted to sink away into the ground. He heard more giggling from Clementine, the mastermind of this horrid plan.

"You called Carley pretty!" She echoed his words.

Lee managed to hastily snatch a glance at Carley. He expected to see a horrified expression on her face.

To his utter surprise, she was donning a smile, blatant amusement in her emerald eyes. Lee snapped around again and realized that he would most likely have to bring it up with Carley later.

 **...**

Lee walked with Carley along to her room. He had obliged himself to do it after a very enjoyable evening, that wasn't very enjoyable at certain points. The rain had died off a bit but the wind retained its crisp edge. Lilly had set a curfew for lights out, and he didn't want to know the punishment for breaking that curfew.

Reaching Carley's door, she spun around to him, a warm smile for him to take in. The moon was out, and in the pale light it cast down upon the woman, Lee saw her raw beauty. Lee was much the taller between her, and it was very noticeable as they stood face to face with one another.

"Thanks for the evening, I really enjoyed it." Carley remarked, one hand on her hip.

"Thank the girl, she was the one who put it together." Lee waved off.

"She's very sweet." Carley smiled brightly, Lee could see that she adored Clementine.

"She likes you a lot too."

A brief silence washed over them.

"And you're very sweet." Carley stated.

Carley glanced up at Lee, Lee gazed back down at Carley. It remained like this for a few seconds, but it wasn't awkward or uncomfortable this time, it was a simply nice moment.

Lee never thought of kissing Carley, but it was all he could think about right now. But is it the right time? If she isn't on the same wavelength as him, then he will ruin everything he has with Carley. But what if she does want to kiss him, and he's-

"This is the part where you kiss me, Lee." Carley whispered to him gently, her eyes had a daring look about them.

Not needing to be told twice, he leaned in and caught her lips. The feeling was glorious as he never thought he would ever feel this way about anyone again, especially in a time like this. Her soft lips felt delightful as he had wrapped one arm around her lower back, her two hands gripping his broad shoulders.

All too soon, they had to separate. Parting for breath, the two gazed at each other and smiled. Where did this leave them? Would they tell the others? Lee knew he wanted to see where their new relationship would go, and he would try his damndest for it to work because Carley was worth the trouble.

"I'll talk to you." Lee whispered.

"I'll talk to _you."_ Carley smirked as Lee made his way back to his room.

 **...**

Tucking her under the layers of blankets, Clementine yawned and set her beloved hat down on the bedside table close to her. Lee ruffled her hair as she giggled at him. Clementine was his ray of sunshine in this dreary time. He was glad he found her back at her treehouse.

"Today was very nice." Clementine mumbled, drifting off as she spoke.

"Yeah, it was, wasn't it sweet pea?" Lee nodded, taking her hand in his and gently stroking her palm with his thumb. She smiled up at him, her eyelids drooping as she struggled to stay awake.

He watched as she dozed off to slumber, adoring her cute face and innocent nature. She had helped him with Carley, she had helped him realize what he wanted, and he was so happy to have her with him. Once he was sure she was deep in sleep, he rose to his feet.

"Sweet dreams, Clem." He whispered to her.

Tip toeing over to his own separate bed, he kicked off his shoes and climbed in under the covers. He flicked the lamp off and the room was swallowed by the darkness. He was to take over watch at some point during the night, so he wanted to catch as much rest as he could before then. Not before he heard some stirring over from Clementine.

"Lee?" He heard her murmur in the darkness.

"Yeah?"

A small pause.

"What are you and Carley going to call your first child?"

"Clementine!"

 **A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed this! It was fun to write it.**

 **Might do a series, I'm a bit busy with school right now but when I get the chance, I could; IF there is any interest in it.**

 **Dunno what it would be about, but I'll get back to you guys about it. IF you're interested.**

 **I want to say thank you to everyone who reviewed on my last story! There were so nice to read! Thank you all so much. Please leave some feedback again on this if you enjoyed; just let me know your thoughts on the story.**

 **Thank you all so much for reading! Hope you enjoyed.**

 **-Peace**


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